Trail XQ50 or XP50?

Kickers

New Member
SUS VENATOR CLUB
Trying to decide between these scopes. Is the XP worth the extra money? Mostly for hogs and occasional varmints. I do take 150 plus yard shots, that's why I want a 50. I will be using it to scan with as well, as I won't have anything else. For those that have used both, suggestions please. I'm familiar with all the specs, but I want some practical real world experience advise. Thanks!
 

Wray

LSB Member
I ordered the XQ50 last week, I should get it tomorrow. My decision came down to my experience with the BIL's zeus 640 42, he was disappointed as i was in the lack of native magnification. He sent it back for the 75mm. 3.3 native mag or so now. It's much more suited to hunting fields with 100+ yard shots.

All of the thermals i have looked through still look ok at double the native, which in the XQ50's case is 5.4x. I've been shooting a 5x gen 3 since 2010 and it performs well at the distance you listed. To me the X and P are a toss up at around 3x and I didn't think an extra grand for the wide FOV was worth it considering all other features of the scope were the same.

If you're going to scan with with did you also order one of the new short mounts? They supposedly will do a true return to zero and allow you to scan. I'll be posting on my impressions of the Q50 and good luck.
 

Wray

LSB Member
the Q50 came in today and i've been learning the interface, while ago a buck came by the back window and I ran out and tried the recorder... sorry for the hand held shakes. I get that from Grandad. I'm really impressed with the interface and really appreciate the quickness of one touch recording. I think I'm going to be happy with the scope. When i get some more time on it I'll chime in with my impressions. In the mean time, here's my shaky video.
 

whitehotmist

LSB Member
Was gonna say, he's pretty dern close... Also, thanks! I learned something in the video.. how to do the zoom. Guess I glazed over that in the manual (writing is too small for old eyes)..
 

Brian Shaffer

Hog Hunter
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
about 25-30 yards

Unfortunately, everything looks good at 25-30 yards with most thermal.

The XQ50 does not have more magnification that the XP50. They are fairly comparable and the XQ50 may be a better value for many hunters, but the XP50 has the additional lower magnification, wider FOV stage than the XQ50.

Let's look at the traits. Lenses are the same and micron size is the same. So the real comparison is in the number of levels of magnification, amount of magnification, and amount of resolution.

Trail XQ50.......Trail XP50
************* .....1.6x 640x480
2.7x 384x288......3.2x 320x240
5.4x 192x144.......6.4x 180x120
10.8x 96x72.........12.8x 90x60

So basically, the XP50 gives you one less level of magnification and after that, the magnification is lower, but with slightly higher resolution. For a lot of hunting situations where you are shooting, you are going want more than 1.6x magnification. So if you are running the XP50, you are going to bump it up some and if you use the short cut, you are going to 3.2x. The XQ50 starts at 2.7x and from the folks that I know that use them, that is where they do much of their shooting.

What the XQ50 really loses is the lower magnification, higher resolution, wider FOV setting that makes for a bit easier scanning.

If money is an issue, I would got with the XQ50. If you can afford the XP50, it is a better choice because it gives you more options, visually.
 

Wray

LSB Member
Brian that pretty well sums it up. If pulsar had a 640 unit with 2.5x native mag, I would have been all over it....but I got tired of waiting. once I figured out I wasn't really getting more detail from the 640 unit at shooting magnifications, I decided that the wider FOV wasn't worth a Cleveland.
 

Brian Shaffer

Hog Hunter
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Interestingly, the XQ50 is better overall than the XP38

Trail XQ50.......Trail XP38
************* .....1.2x 640x480
2.7x 384x288......2.4x 320x240
5.4x 192x144.......4.8x 180x120
10.8x 96x72..........9.6x 90x60

So if the decision was between an XQ50 and XP38, the XQ50 is the more powerful scope with higher resolution, bigger lens, and more magnification, but at less cost, with the exception of the native magnification of the XP38.
 

Wray

LSB Member
Yep, I think there shouldn't have been an xp 38 period, the xp50 should have been the low end and there should have been something along the lines of a 75. There's not much difference beteeen the 1.2 of the 38 and the 1.6 of the 50.
 

Brian Shaffer

Hog Hunter
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Yep, I think there shouldn't have been an xp 38 period, the xp50 should have been the low end and there should have been something along the lines of a 75. There's not much difference beteeen the 1.2 of the 38 and the 1.6 of the 50.

Actually, there is because the larger lens and additional magnification do make for a better image with the XP50.
 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Nice hog!
 

RattlesnakeDan

San Antonio Texas
LSB TURKEY BUZZARD PRESERVATION SOCIETY
SUS VENATOR CLUB
LoneStarBoars Supporter
Wray, you can start a new post under a different section if you want to for this.
 

Whosure

LSB Member
LoneStarBoars Supporter
The XQ50 does not have more magnification that the XP50. They are fairly comparable and the XQ50 may be a better value for many hunters, but the XP50 has the additional lower magnification, wider FOV stage than the XQ50.

Brian,

I have never night hunted with thermal before, so I am curious how beneficial the extra FOV is. Is it more for post initial shot sounder shooting or just in general scanning and locating the sounder to pick out a hog to kill?
 
Top